Melancholy
by TheValueSystem
Summary: Caige's dark past. Caige is an original character first used in the story Madness.


York, England

The darkest of nights was upon the countryside and yet the sky was lit in a way that only spelled disaster. The gastric heat rolled off the flames vividly and disappeared into the abyss above; the house in the middle of the country burned, just outside the reach of York's officials. They gaped silently at the absurd flames that protruded from the wood, waiting for an opening to investigate the mess… an opening that would not come.

As the firemen tried to save the house the two young occupants stood idly by and watched as they lost their entire life. The oldest of the two looked about fifteen; he had dark hair that fit in perfectly with the sky and even darker eyes that portrayed no emotion what so ever… in truth, even he didn't know what to feel at the moment. He was lost.

The dark-haired Caige held on to the younger occupant's hand to comfort her. The young girl was around thirteen; she had long brownish hair with a slight wave to it and hazel eyes with hints of almost every color in the rainbow. The girl's eyes hazed over with moisture as she watched her previous home burn. I single stream of condensed sadness slid down her smooth cheek.

"Where… w-where is mommy?" The girl asked even though she knew the answer. Caige's heart throbbed as he thought about the situation in full. Here he was… alone with his sister.

Each word he was about to say hurt his aching soul. "She is in a better place now… Scarlet."

**Melancholy**

Death City, Nevada

Caige and Scarlet trotted through the desert… this was their last hope. Now that they had lost it all, they had to rely on the one thing their mother had forbidden: the use of Scarlet's weapon blood.

Scarlet twirled around a couple times, she was a little excited about the new start and was on the lookout for the infamous Death City. Caige was glad to see she was feeling better, after the accident and a month of living on the streets she needed a break from reality. Death City was just the place.

Hopefully they would be accepted into the academy; Caige had no clue on how everything worked. Scarlet wasn't requested… but did the Death Weapon Meister Academy even send acceptance letters?

"Hey big bro! What does this place look like anyway?" Scarlet squealed excitedly.

"I actually don't know Scarlet. Are you ok? Do you need some water or anything? This is the desert after all." Caige lectured on accident.

"Don't worry about me bro, I'll be fine." Scarlet reassured him. "Hey! Look, look!"

Scarlet pointed out straight in front of them as a majestic castle came into view on the horizon. Caige blinked once or twice to make sure what he saw wasn't a mirage. It was indeed the strangest castle he'd ever seen. At the top three mystical orbs floated un-affected above the castle, red towers rose up to poke the blue sky gently, giant candles burned flawlessly on each side of this masterpiece, and at the very front were three light depictions of a skull- the middle of which had spikes jutting out of the nose and eye holes.

The mood that had befallen them over the past month abruptly changed for the better as they arrived at the magnificent city; even the sun laughed heartily at them as they strode in the wonderland.

"Wow! This looks nothing like the York Castle." Scarlet said ignorantly. "They should really finish that."

"Sister dear, half of York Castle was destroyed." Caige was used to playing parent now; he was ok with it.

They walked through the streets of Death City, which seemed to literally come to life compared to York. So many exciting things; so out of the ordinary. A few students from the academy were talking outside a coffee shop named "Deathbucks Cofee", and suddenly one began to shine brightly before dematerializing and shifting form into that of an axe.

"Hey Scarlet, what does your weapon form look like?" Caige asked curiously.

"I don't really know yet", the hazel eyed girl said shyly. "All I've managed to do is this."

Scarlet held up her pinky on her right hand; it began to glow just like the other student, and suddenly became a rather sharp looking edge. Caige examined it for a second, _damn. My sister could probably kill me. _

"What are you gonna do Caige?" His sister asked gingerly. "While I'm a student at Shibusen?"

Embarrassment crept its way into Caige's stomach and leeched onto him like a parasite. He had hoped that he could be a meister… but what were the requirements for being a meister? A particularly strong will? He would do anything… ANYTHING, for his sister; to keep them together. Scarlet had already discarded the question.

The two began their ascent up the long flight of stairs that seemed to never end; on the other end was their destiny: the DWMA.

About twelve steps up Caige began to huff and puff, desperate for air; while his younger sibling bounced up the stairs taking two steps at a time. _Ok, _Caige thought. _I'm really out of shape. _Why wouldn't he be? He had no particular reason to keep up his physical fitness.

After what seemed like hours, the two finally made it to the top of the staircase and were now face to face with the beautiful academy. Scarlet didn't admire the view for too long though, and was soon skipping to the front entrance.

Once the two walked in the school things toke a turn for the weird; meisters and weapons alike were squabbling throughout the halls, picking fights with one another. The most peculiar sight was a strange blue-haired boy that looked about eleven. He was shouting at people throughout the halls threateningly; but nobody paid any attention to him.

Scarlet stared at the boy for a few seconds before Caige grabbed her shoulders and led her away, "Come on now, you can do much better than that." Caige said protecting his little sis. "Besides, that kids a nut job. He said he was gonna surpass God."

Caige approached the first classroom door he saw and lightly tapped his fingers on the hard wood. The door opened a moment later, and out stepped a dark skinned man with his hair woven into corn-rolls. The young teacher looked like he was in his twenties… but Caige wasn't sure.

"What is it you two?" Said the man sternly.

"um…", Caige lost his thoughts for a moment as looked up at the intimidating man. " H-how do we gain admittance to this academy?"

The man's face seemed to lighten a tone when he realized they weren't students. "Sorry about that", he said. "I'm not usually the type of man that tries to scare people. But as you can see here, we are having a little disciplinary problem." The teacher waved his hand over the hall, as if trying to make all the sparring disappear.

"Anyway, my name is Sid", he continued. "What about you two?"

"I'm Caige, and this is my younger sister Scarlet."

"Well I'm sorry Caige and Scarlet. We aren't taking any more meisters at the moment; we are a little short on weapons."

Sid began to turn back around. "Wait", Caige pleaded. "My sister is a weapon…"

Sid paused and looked over Scarlet for a bit. He cupped his chin in his hand and spoke softly. "Well… Show me what you can do then."

Scarlet's face began to glow bright red and she turned to Caige to give him the evil eye. After a moment Scarlet finally gathered the courage to stick out her hand and transform her pinky into a sharp blade.

"This is all I can do sir…" Scarlet said shyly.

"That's to be expected", Sid said reassuringly. "And you!" Sid now had his finger extended to point directly at Caige. "I suppose you want to be this girl's meister?"

Hope swelled in Caige's chest; he nodded furiously.

"Then you two better follow me to the physical fitness examination field."

Caige felt the hope fall down and get replaced by anxiety.

Caige sat alone in the boy's locker room, he was finished getting ready but couldn't bring himself to go outside. Not only was he going to embarrass himself but he also wasn't going to be able to become Scarlet's partner. Caige breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth at an attempt to calm himself… no good. He got up and lazily slumped toward the door and opened it. The bright light that spilled into the room was blinding. Caige held his hand up to block the sun and trotted out.

The sun made it hard to see, but as his eyes got used to the light he could make out Sid's form. He walked sluggishly toward him and as he got closer he could tell Scarlet was there too. By the time Caige got to them he was no longer blinded by the sun… but wished he were.

What Scarlet was wearing nearly gave him a heart attack; a plain white shirt tucked into what looked like swim suit bottoms. Caige jumped in front of his little sister to protect her from onlookers but soon saw there was none. Few people were out on the field, and the ones that were had on the same attire as Caige and Scarlet.

Caige settled down a bit as he made this realization and stepped away from Scarlet. _Why would an American school adopt the Japanese gym attire? _Caige thought, _the Headmaster must be a perv… wait, the Headmaster is Lord Death… _Caige swallowed hard and forced himself to push any negative thoughts towards the Shinigami away. He wasn't ready to die.

Sid coughed to get his attention. "Anyway", he said. "I don't know where your physical skill is at, so depending on these tests your class placement will be made." Sid then went over the basic info for each test and its subsiding placement value, simple things in words. Speed, strength, and maneuverability; the three main things a good meister is required to have… or any fighter for that matter. They would be tested with a 100 meter dash, a shot put, and a pole vault.

Sid watched from afar while Caige and Scarlet stumbled through the fitness exercises. Caige had three chances to score on the shot put. On the first he stumbled around and eventually lost his grasp on the heavy metal ball. The second try had just as much success as he was able to put the ball 2 meters. The third and final try was when he finally got it together though. He thought about which fulcrum would best keep the ball airborne and positioned the ball close to his shoulder so he could more easily access his arm muscles. He heaved with all his might and was able to throw the ball about 10 meters, which he later found out was about normal for a guy his age.

He struggled with the rest of the challenges though. Clearing the 100 meter dash in 17 seconds and snapping the vaulting pole in half because he didn't hit the ground at the right angle. He was sure he had calculated it correctly but execution was a whole different matter. Thinking was his forte… however, acting was not.

Sid walked up to Caige and Scarlet after they had completed the exam and jotted down last minute notes on his clipboard. He looked over the notes carefully and read out loud: "On the shot put. Caige- 10.7 meters. Scarlet- 5.3 meters. On the 100 meter dash. Caige- 17 seconds. Scarlet- 12 seconds. On the pole vault. Caige- Ummm ya. Scarlet- off by half an inche."

Caige swallowed hard. "So does this mean I'm accepted?"

"Accepted?" Sid said. "Of course, these tests were for placement. If you want to help your sister we can't stop you. However Caige, with your physical abilities being that of a normal person you will have to train hard. It will be brutal… are you sure you want to join?"

Excitement and joy swept Caige away. He was lost in his own little world. Of course he was going to join. He was ready for anything. "No matter the cost, I'm here to stay Sid."

The young teacher smiled widely. He was used to the spirit but something was different about Caige. He was meant for a lot more.


End file.
